How are you so CUTE?
by Laina Inverse
Summary: A series of oneshots focusing on princesses, the people that love them, and the oddly cute moments that can be found at any time. See author's note in first chapter for details on the various versions of Frey. (Also includes pretty much eeevery character in the game, at one point or another. Stupid tag limit.)
1. Arthur and Aria

_AN: Okay, so, before you guys and gals get any farther into the story, I'll warn you ahead of time; I like Frey. I do. But I don't like the idea that all six very different boys can fall for the same girl. So some versions of Frey are completely overhauled to OCness. If you want the two that are closest to canon!Frey, look for chapters with Aria and Reesa. If you don't mind OCs in the play of the main, read on and let me know what you think!_

Aria and Arthur

-post Arc 3-

For a long time Aria had held no memories of her past. In some cases, it was good; she had no memories to hold her back from trying something new, or to keep her from trying something that everyone else would consider rather stupid. It also meant, however, that she had no idea of how to react when certain subjects were brought up. When it had come to being in love, she had been just as flustered as Forte, and twice as shy.

Arthur hadn't been terribly forward _either,_ but the love he held for the stand-in-princess was undeniable, and he became quite good at showing it. It was that love that had propelled her forward into saving Ventuswill, not once, not twice, but three separate times. It was that love that had shown her that the past didn't have to always matter to build the future.

But the past was finally starting to return, in bits and pieces, in dreams, mostly.

Aria woke abruptly, not afraid, but definitely awake, and carefully started to sit up, hoping to avoid disturbing her hard-working husband who lay curled up next to her. After a moment she smiled fondly down at him; who would have thought the youngest prince would be a cuddler? Certainly not _her_ family.

Her family...

Aria frowned a little at the negligent, tickling thought, and ran a hand through her long, pale blonde hair. Well, the Earthmate side of the family would have been pleased because she was pleased. Unfortunately, some of her family was definitely _not_ Earthmate. Gingerly she removed Arthur's arm from around her waist, and started to slip out of the bed. It was a warm summer night, maybe going for a short walk would help...

"Mmmn... m'lady?" Arthur yawned a little, and shifted, propping himself up after a moment. "You all right?"

"Uhmmm... yes and no?" Aria offered, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you..."

"Well, I am a relatively light sleeper anyways," he said, reaching for his glasses. "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

"Nnnnooooo... Not really."

Aria sat back on the bed and let Arthur pull her close. Leaning against him felt so very nice... And it really had been a very long day.

"So what's wrong?" he asked.

"Mnn... remember how I didn't really have any memories and we were used to that and then I went to save Venti and started remembering things?"

He chuckled a little, and nuzzled the top of her head.

"Yes. You've told me a few of them."

"Well... I think some of my family was actually kind of political instead of Earthmate."

"Oh?"

Aria blushed, poking her fingers together in embarrassment. Arthur's eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"Uhm... apparently... before I set off for here... my grandmother really wanted me to meet you, and try and convince you to marry me."

Aria blushed harder. Arthur blinked. Then chuckled.

"That's..." He struggled for the right words, then shook his head a little and kissed her forehead lightly. "Are you going to get in contact with this grandmother of yours and let her know you were successful?~"

"What?! No!" Aria frowned at her husband, still blushing furiously. "We're so far out here that politics and things don't _matter_, and I wanna keep it that way! Besides, if Gran finds out, she'll want to know when the baby's coming..."

"You mean the five year old child sleeping in her own bed?" he chuckled."Or the sibling we've been attempting to make for her."

She slugged his arm, lightly, and he was willing to be she was blushing all over now.

"You're lucky you're cute," she said, a pout in her voice.

He kissed her nose.

"You're cuter." He laughed softly as she squeaked. "So what _are_ you going to do about these memories?"

"Uhm... welll..." Aria shrugged a little. "I mean, if I can remember what the address is, I wouldn't mind writing to my parents and letting them know we did it. We succeeded, and saved a stubborn dragon. But I don't think I want to get to writing the other side."

"Oh?"

"If Gran is as political as I remember... yeah... no. Letting her know that I actually did what she told me, even if I was unawares of it, would be just a biiiit problematic."

He chuckled again, and hugged her lightly.

"Well, since there's nothing to be done, why don't we just go back to sleep?"

Aria pondered the idea, then snuggled up against him.

"Okay. Night night Arthur~"

"Good night my lady," he murmured, nuzzling her gently.


	2. Leon, Venti, and Sonomi

Leon, Venti, and Sonomi

-Post arc 1-

She had a cool gaze to her, this Earthmate. A cooler attitude, to boot. A guarded attitude, really, like she wanted to protect herself. A little like Dolce, but... more.

Leon rather liked her.

Sonomi, however, didn't quite share his feelings. Well, not really. Attraction, physical attraction, was one thing, but his flippant joking manner was... worrying. And she wasn't often one to share her own feelings, other than with Venti.

So when she stalked into the dragon's room, looking like she was ready to throw something, the great dragon lowered her head down a little in surprise. Then smirked as only a dragon could. She had a feeling she knew what had happened, but it was always fun to let the human woman tell the story. Plus, she could see a tell-tale flicker of ear and tail; Leon was going to be eavesdropping, it seemed.

"Ran into Leon again, huh?" she said knowingly.

"It's hard _not_ to run into that smart-ass," Sonomi grumbled, raking black hair out of her face as she paused before her friend. "He keep brushing me off, like I shouldn't give half a damn! Jerkass."

"He's always been like that," Venti sniffed a little. "Making light of everything and everyone. What'd he do this time?"

"He was picking on Forte," Sonomi sighed. "By telling Keil things that Keil _really_ doesn't need to know. That one's a walking ball of innocence. It'd be nice if he could stay that way for a while longer."

"Unlike you?"

Sonomi made a face. She wasn't the naïve type. Never had been.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect that touching the Rune Spheres would restore my memories," she sighed. "Though given how much of my own skill went into them, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

Venti chuckled a little.

"So he was teasing Forte by joking with Keil, and you got involved?"

"Forte looked ready to punt him into the lake," Sonomi shrugged. "I went to the trouble of saving his hide, I'd really rather he not drown right now."

Then she paused, and a considering look crossed over her face. Venti promptly started laughing. After a moment, Sonomi shook her head, though there was a tiny smile on her face.

"No, not right now. He's an ass, but it could be worse."

"Oh?"

"Oh," Sonomi replied, half-turning.

Venti smiled a little, knowing full well that the Earthmate had caught signs of Leon as well.

"I mean, while he is a bit of a loudmouthed braggart, he does have a good side. I haven't _seen_ it, but it ought to be there. He just has to stop being a smart-ass long enough to show it."

Venti started laughing again. Leon poked his head around the door with a faint frown at Sonomi, who just crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're a rather mean Earthmate," he said, a pout in his voice.

"That's what you get for eavesdropping," Sonomi said primly, and turned to head into her room.


	3. Reesa and Dylas (and Meg)

Reesa and Dylas (and Meg)

-Mid arc 2-

"Um, Dylas?"

"What?"

"...I. Um..." Reesa ran a hand through her green ponytail, twining some strands nervously around her fingers. "I... I really like you."

He turned away from his fishing pole and stared at her.

"You... you what?"

Reesa looked shyly down at her feet, shuffling. It had taken her all week to get up the nerve to tell him this, and she couldn't let it be ruined now because of how abysmally shy she was!

"I really really like you!" she blurted, blushing a bright, fierce red.

"You..."

Dylas was at a loss for words. This girl, this... Earthmate, who had rescued him. She _liked_ him? As in, liked him, liked him?! His heart jumped into his throat when she gave him that hopeful look, that was mixed with resignation if he didn't like her back. _Did_ he like her back?

Hell... if he didn't say _something_, she was going to walk away all broken hearted and dejected, and he _really_ didn't like to see her depressed.

"I ah... I need some... time to think," he said, stumbling a little over the words. "I'll... tomorrow. Ten am. I'll meet you in the square and tell you then, okay?"

It renewed the dimming hope in her green eyes, and he felt his heart bump painfully as she nodded.

"Good. Okay then. Tomorrow."

He quickly grabbed up his pole and hurried back to the restaurant, mind spinning. She liked him. _She_ liked _him_? It was almost too absurd to consider. What was there to like about him? He was a sourpuss, a grouch, and he didn't really like people in general... Yet...

He retreated up to his room to think; surely there had to be something he could say to her...

Reesa remained at the lake, just sort of staring into the clear, fish-filled water. That had been _really_ hard to say, and he had looked so stunned by it. It made her wish Venti was feeling better so that she could go talk to the dragon, but without the Rune Spheres, Venti was sleeping more often than not. Passed out so deeply that... well, waking her was almost impossible.

"So, did you tell him?"

Reesa jumped, making Meg giggle as she came to sit by the stand-in-princess.

"I made sure everyone stayed away from the lake so that you could," the elf giggled again, "though I didn't tell anyone why. I just said Dylas was being grumpier than normal and should probably be avoided."

"Thanks Meg," Reesa said, blushing again. "Um... y-yeah, I told him. But..."

"But?"

"But I think I upset him. He said he'd tell me tomorrow, in the square..."

"Oh, Reesa," the elf smiled, ruffling her friend's hair. "It's just Dylas being his typical socially awkward self. He'll see~ You're adorable and loveable. Don't worry about it."

"But... but what if he says no?"

"Well..." Meg pondered that, mostly because she knew it would give her friend something to hold on to. "I guess you just keep trying until you decide you don't want to try anymore. Right?"

"I don't know..."

Margaret reached out and wrapped a comforting arm around Reesa's shoulders.

"Cheer up," she said. "It'll be just fine, you'll see. If nothing else, you could always tell him exactly what you like about him to wear him down~"

Reesa blushed, but giggled a little.

"I don't think he'd like knowing that a bit of the reason I like him is cause he was a pony," she said a little dryly.

"But it's not all of the reason," Meg said with a grin. "I mean, you told me the other day when we had the sleepover in your room."

Reesa blushed a bit; it had just been the two of them, on a spur of the moment idea. It had _seemed_ like a fun idea at the time...

"He's hard-working, brave, calm and collected," Meg recited, giggling harder as her friend blushed more and more red. "Fights really well, always seems to have your back, and is nice, even when he's being a total grump to everyone else."

"Me-eg," Reesa whined a little.

"Okay, okay," Meg was giggling furiously by now, and gave the human a hug. "I'll stop~ But really, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Dylas had been so distracted for most of the day that Porcoline had told him to go for a walk. That was embarrassing. To be distracted by the confession of a girl like Reesa, to the point of not being able to serve food to the visitors...

It hadn't helped that Meg had a knowing grin on her face when she walked in to help with the lunchtime rush. It was no secret that the two girls were best friends, after all. He had decided that it was better to keep his mouth shut, since the musically-inclined elf also had one heck of a sharp tongue when she wanted to.

But that didn't help solve his problems about how to answer Reesa.

On a whim he headed to the Water Ruins, where he'd been Thunderbolt for a long time, and stood in the chamber where Reesa had defeated his monster self and restored him to this form... albeit with some alterations. He could just vaguely remember _not_ having ears and a tail when he was a grouchy human wanderer.

It still sucked that returning the memories of him, Amber, and Dolce seemed to have sparked off Venti's latest illness. Oh, he knew that wasn't the reason, but still. It felt like it was.

Dumb girl, not finding a better hiding spot than the middle of the room...

He knelt by the spot where the Rune Sphere had been; it still felt warm, despite the fact that it had been a few weeks since then. Reesa hadn't hesitated to go after the Sechs. Hell, she'd asked him to come with her! Why him? Why not someone like Leon, who didn't actually _have_ a job and spent most of the day just walking around or fishing?

Dylas sighed, and shook his head a little.

He really did not understand her. At all. She seemed shy and innocent, on par with Kiel sometimes, and other times she could say something that was surprisingly harsh. Like when she'd yelled at him for moping about not being able to do something.

The memory made him smile. It had been the first sign he'd seen of her having an actual backbone. Telling him that it didn't matter if he couldn't do one specific thing, there was a whole bunch of others that he _could_.

Unbidden, more memories returned; the anxious look when he'd woken up in the clinic a second time and brushed right on by her; the shyly timid smile when she'd offered him the first carrot that she'd grown in her fields; the time they'd started talking about fishing after she'd admitted she found it fairly fun.

He winced a little, thinking on the number of times he'd snapped at her before that. Why had she kept talking to him, even after he'd been as rude as possible?

Did he even have an answer for her?

He sighed a little; feelings were definitely not his strong suit. Not in the slightest. But... if he was being honest with himself, yes, he _did_ like her. Maybe as more than a friend.

He got up,and headed home in the dark, falling into his bed when he reached it... but didn't sleep. He stared at the ceiling and continued to ponder what he was going to say to her.

Rain started up partway through the night, with enough lightning and thunder thrown in that Reesa—already not really sleeping—was tossed into full awareness as some of the rain splattered in through the window she'd left open for the night air. She squeaked and hurried to close it, then fastened the shutters on the outside. Then she ran back through her room to do the same on the front windows. It was just a storm, not a typhoon, but it was still unnerving.

She assumed the fear of thunderstorms came from somewhere in her missing past; instead of going back to sleep, she changed out of her soaked clothes and hugged her Chipsqueak plush to her chest.

Would he find her fears funny? Or would he comfort her on nights like this?

It made her wish she'd thought to ask Meg if she could spend the night again. She was just doubting too much to feel very comfortable. Between Venti being down, and her heart thumping painfully in her chest at even the _thought_ of Dylas, Reesa had never been so anxious.

The storm part, at least, had died down by the time she had to go out and take care of her fields, though the rain most certainly hadn't. Vishnal had overslept thanks to said rain, so Reesa wasn't inclined to be upset about this; the butler would fuss horribly if he saw her in this sort of state, heavy-eyed and exhausted.

She tried to pay more attention to the crops than the clock, but that was a feat easier said than done. Especially when there were only a few that needed actual tending; between the rain and her pets, the fields were really well cared for.

Of course, she was soaked by the time meeting time came around. Dylas took one look at her as she dashed out into the rain to meet him, sighed, and pushed her into the dragon's space, which was empty at the moment.

"You know you're crazy, right?" he asked, folding his umbrella with a faint frown. "You're soaked. And you look kind of terrible."

As usual, his mouth went faster than his brain, but instead of getting upset, Reesa just frowned up at him.

"You might be dry, but you look just as tired," she pointed out, pouting a little.

He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Can I ask you something before I tell you my answer? Besides what I just did," he said, knowing her penchant for taking things a little too literally.

"Okay."

"You know I'm a bad talker, right?"

"Well... yeah," she nodded a little, "but-"

"I'm not all that smart either; I act before I think."

She nodded again, a tiny smile crossing her face. He wasn't sure what was so funny, but... that smile made his heart race, and completely distracted him from what he'd hoped to say.

"So uh... See, I... ummm..."

He scowled so suddenly that she took a step back in surprise.

"Oh, heck with this!" he exploded suddenly. "Listen up, cause I'm only saying this once! I... damnit, I like you!"

He was bright red, entirely flustered and had yelled it loud enough that Reesa was willing to bet that the three butlers had heard it too. Still... It was kind of cute. She decided against giggling, since she didn't want to fluster him too badly.

"So, I've got one question for you," he continued, making her attention focus on him again. "If you don't mind a dumbass like me, will you... go out with me?"

Now she did giggle, and nodded.

"You will?"

Again she nodded, grinning so hard that her cheeks were starting to hurt.

"I will~ I really really will!"

She wasn't inclined to let him say anything else either; after weeks of trying to summon up the courage, the delight of _officially _being Dylas' girlfriend was just too much to suppress. So she practically tackled him in a hug. Dylas yelped, slipping on the wet floor, and wrapped his arms around her for her protection as he crashed.

"...Oops," she smiled sheepishly when he lifted his head to scowl at her. "Sorry?"

He just sighed, and let his head flop back down. And kept holding her close. And slowly, he began to smile.


	4. Kitten and Doug

Kitten and Doug

One would have thought that a girl would be no trouble at all. Especially one who had lost her memory. And he had to admit, she was a _pretty_ girl at that. If... a little strange. Okay, _very_ strange. Doug wasn't really sure what was up with her, to be honest.

She was about his height, and her hair was a sort of tawny orange-gold, her eyes a deep brown color. She was as human as could be but that wasn't obvious at first glance; she wore a headband with cat ears, often had on cat paw gloves and boot, and wore a fake tail. She wore a short dress patterned much like palm cat fur over a sleeveless brown bodysuit, and she could mimic a palm cat's growl, purr, and meow with surprising accuracy.

And her name! Who in their right mind named a girl Kitten?

No, she was a weird girl. And while one might think from her appearance that she would be confident, or even outgoing, she was _painfully_ shy, and rarely spoke thanks to a fairly difficult stutter.

….which somehow, managed to make her appear all too cute. And that was a problem. He knew that she was technically the enemy. He couldn't allow himself to _like_ the enemy, damnit! And yet... he _did_ like her. He barely knew her, but he liked her.

Doug groaned a little and flopped back onto the soft grass with a sigh. Following her through both the Yokmir forest and the Water Ruins hadn't been smart. She was bound to be suspicious of him now, right? He would have been... but then, he had been told to be suspicious of everyone.

Watching her fight had been intense, though. Shy as she was, he hadn't expected her to be that fast, or hit that hard. And where had she gotten those weapons _anyways_? Bado sure as hell didn't stock anything _that_ nice... He'd never even _seen_ blades like those in Meanderer's.

"Um... D-d-d-doug?"

"Wah!"

He jack-knifed upright, and grabbed for his sword, ready to attack... and lowered the blade when he saw it was only Kitten. She blushed, and ducked her head a little in embarrassment.

"Don't _do_ that!" He complained. "I could have killed you!"

"S-s-s-sorry..."

He winced a little as she looked fully down at her feet now, her whole body dropping in embarrassed apology.

"Aw man," he groaned a little and put the blade down fully. "I swear, you have that look down way too perfect for anyone to resist. I'm not mad, c'mon... What're you doing here anyways?"

"I-I-I want-ted t-t-t-to... um..."

He couldn't help feeling sorry for her, that stutter really _was_ terrible. But even with it, she had a cute voice, and... no! He quickly banished those thoughts, a little angrily at that. She was a friend of that stupid dragon, so no, he couldn't start liking her now, damnit!

"D-d-d-Doug?"

"Gah!" he jumped again, and now it was his turn to blush. "Sorry, um, what?"

She drooped more, and shook her head after a minute.

"N-n-never... mind. It's n-n-not... imp-portant..."

It was then that he spotted the small basket by her feet. It smelled like it was full of very good food... and it _had_ been a while since Granny Blossom's breakfast.

"Hey, uh... Don't go," he said a little weakly. "I'm sorry I wasn't listening. I've just... life's kind of complicated."

She glanced at him uncertainly, and he patted the grass next to him.

"Seriously, come on. Take a load off and relax."

She bit her lip, then smiled shyly and obediently moved closer, bringing the basket with.

"Did Porcoline give you that food?"

Kitten shook her head.

"I m-m-made it... myself," she admitted. "I like.. c-c-cooking... W-would... um. W-would you…?"

It wasn't hard to guess that she wanted to share lunch with him, and hell, why not? He was hungry, and it smelled _really_ good.

"Sure!" he grinned a little. "If it's okay, I mean."

Her smile widened, and took on a more natural tinge, less worried and shy. He found himself liking that smile...

"It's... ok-k-k-kay. I was..."

Now she blushed and abruptly stopped talking, though she sat down and started poking through the basket to pull out the food. Doug was not wholly unobservant, and blinked a little as a thought flickered through him. Could she like him?

The number of rice dishes seemed to suggest that yes, she did.

"Whoa! Tempura rice~" Doug grinned. "How'd you know I liked this?"

"G-g-g-"

"Granny Blossom, huh?"

She nodded, and it wasn't hard to see that she was relieved he could guess what she was saying, without her having to struggle through a whole sentence. Damn, how could he _not_ like her?

"Yeah, I've been staying with Granny for a while, so she does know the best things. She makes risotto a lot too. Rice is the best food, ever, y'know?"

Kitten giggled, and listened as he told her stories about the townsfolk while they ate. He knew he should have been trying to get something, _anything_ out of her in terms of information, but given her amnesia, it was pointless to try, and with her stutter, it took a lot of time for her to say anything at all. And it wasn't hard to guess that her stutter embarrassed her. Given how she'd landed on that stupid dragon with no memories, and felt entirely out of place, he found himself trying to make her feel more relaxed. He even managed to startle a laugh out of her a few times with some of the more absurd stories.

It was a surprise to both of them when it rather abruptly got dark. After a moment, Doug sighed.

"Granny'll get upset if I'm out much longer," he said apologetically. "And it's my turn to open the store tomorrow too, so I guess we ought to get back."

Kitten nodded after a minute, and started putting the dishes back into the basket. When she was done, Doug hopped to his feet, and offered her his hand. At some point she'd removed her cat's paw gloves, which was nice because her hand in his was surprisingly soft. Okay, so she'd only been working those fields for around two weeks, but still. And up close like that...

Hastily he dropped her hand and took a step back to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. He didn't have to like the stupid dragon—though he maybe kind of did—but maybe it was okay to like the stupid dragon's cute friend.

"Hey uh... can I call you Kit? Kitten just sounds..."

She giggled a little and nodded.

"I kn-now... B-but it w-w-was the only thing I c-c-c-ould rememb-ber..."

"Kit it is, then," he grinned a little.

He walked her back to the palace, and was surprised by the sudden hug she gave him before darting inside. He couldn't help the grin on his face as he walked back to the general store and the hot meal Granny Blossom had waiting. No, he wasn't ever bound to like Ventuswill... but he thought maybe, just _maybe_, it would be okay to like the girl.


End file.
